Charles III’s Message on His First Visit to Northern Ireland as King

“On behalf of my family, I can only express my sincere gratitude for your condolences. I am here today at a time of great personal sorrow as I commemorate the death of my dear mother, after a life faithfully devoted to the task that was entrusted to her,” said the British Sovereign.

Carlos III recalled that, “throughout all these years,” Elizabeth II “never stopped praying for this place? and his people” whose stories he knew and “whose misery our family felt.

“My mother, I know, deeply felt the importance of the role she played in uniting those history had separated, and in achieving heal old woundssaid the British head of state.

With those words, Carlos III referred to the impact of the past Northern Ireland conflict both in the region and in his own family, after the IRA killed his favorite great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten1979.

He also highlighted the gestures of reconciliation his own mother made when, for example, she traveled to the Republic of Ireland in 2011, the first state visit by a British monarch since independence from the United Kingdom, or when she shook Martin’s hand. MacGuinness, former Northern Ireland Prime Minister and former IRA commander.

Maskey, a former IRA leader, also had influence on these issues and expressed the Assembly’s condolences to the king.

“She has personally shown how individual positive leadership actions can be breaking down barriers and promoting reconciliation‘ said the chairman of the Belfast Home Rule Assembly.

During his visit to Hillsborough Castle, Charles III also met Northern Irish political representatives, led by Sinn Féin Vice President Michelle O’Neill and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson.

Both remain at odds over the application of Brexit to the region, which has prevented the formation of a power-sharing government since last May’s regional elections, which Sinn Féin won for the first time in its history.

Carlos III and Camila will also attend a religious service in the afternoon in the St. Anne’s Cathedral of Belfast in memory of the Queen, an act that will also be attended by the British Prime Minister, Liz Trussthe head of government of Dublin, Michael Martinand the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.